re: Check out this oak-tree mural I made (& then DIY)

I kinda like the idea, but I think it would look much cleaner if you used a black and white photograph of a large live oak, cut it up into the frame sizes, then used like black frames with white matting

and keep the spacing uniform

I like that!

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone -- good and bad, I welcome all.

This project was my first attempt at anything of the sort, and I enjoyed making it -- visualizing an end result and seeing how it comes out is rewarding, and I found painting to be calming.

Yes, I am a dude; No, I'm not a "3 year old monkey." And, yes, believe it or not I do own a level and tape measure (plus, I think everyone kinda has a level if you have a smartphone); I didn't, however, want the frames to line up evenly and wanted a more random look. As for the frames not being straight, yeah, that's just a loss from crummy thrift-store frames, my poor craftsmanship and walls that seem to shake a lot from an upstairs neighbor.

In the end, I was shooting for (you can decide if I hit) a "tree" feel in the sense things don't grow perfectly symmetrical and aren't evenly colored. I used sponges and a paint roller to do the paint, and I can see how it might bother y'all.

I personally liked the bright-colored frames, but, again, that's a fair comment.

The bright frame colors and uneven alignment of frames, however, did deviate from how I got the idea, as seen in this screen shot of a picture in a Jack Johnson music video. Yeah, that one looks better haha



All in all, I'm pleased with the results and cool with y'all's love and hate. This was my first attempt, and it was just an idea to decorate an empty wall in my apartment rather than something I'm trying to argue is good enough for someone to buy or something. Thanks again for the input

needs one of these

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but the fact that almost none of the frames are parallel to each other is driving me insane

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Conformity is for Nazis and Republicans. I would go even more random with different frame types and widths....and if I was drawing challenged like the OP, I'd have someone else draw/paint the tree.

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crooked frames

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This complaint is by far the most recurring (then the frame colors).

But, to be clear, when y'all say crooked or uneven, do you mean:
1) The frames don't align in flush, even lines based on how they're arranged on the wall and we're they're located
2) Rather than the positioning or alignment of where the frames are placed on the wall, you're saying the frames are hanging and un-level angles, as in setting a level on the top of the frame would show it's crooked.

Again, I was shooting for -- but apparently missed -- a more organic tree feel where things wouldn't "grow" symmetrically.

Too much going on there.

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needs one of these

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The level or the sandwich maker.